


Five Chords No One In Wilco Ever Played

by AstoriaRoss



Category: Wilco
Genre: M/M, five things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-17
Updated: 2011-06-17
Packaged: 2017-10-20 12:19:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/212717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstoriaRoss/pseuds/AstoriaRoss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What the title says.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Chords No One In Wilco Ever Played

1\. _embryonic_

Before Jeff went to rehab, your relationship was overwhelmingly about him trying to find a way to overcome his pain, and you both know it. Now that's all been razed to the ground and what's left is you and he looking at each other and shuffling your feet and trying to figure out how to start over. It's lasted for weeks now, followed you through half a tour, and you're sick of it.

You're in another hotel, flat on your back on the bed, headphones securely over your ears. The music's on pause. Jeff's sitting on the edge of the other bed, chewing on the end of his pen and writing something in his battered notebook every so often. It's late. The hotel is mostly quiet, except for the occasional door opening and closing, the infrequent fall of footsteps outside in the hall. You take the headphones off. You're too worn out to focus on the details you need to focus on. "Jeff."

He looks up.

"Come over here."

"You were busy, I didn't -"

"Come here."

He sets the notebook on top of the TV and walks over. You pull him down onto the bed, kiss him hesitantly. His hand curls around your naked wrist and doesn't let go.

 

2\. _improvisation_

That night, you play so hard your hands bleed and Jeff wraps them quickly and gently for you during the encore break as John peels the wrappers off band-aids for him one by one. After you go back out, before the last song, you catch the rest of what Jeff's leaning into the mic to say. "...laughed, we've cried, we've bled... show them your hand, Glenn." And you hold up the hand that's worse than the other and the audience makes a long sympathetic noise. Jeff flashes you a grin over his shoulder, and you shake your head. _Fucker_ , you mouth at him. He grins harder.

Your hands don't really start to throb until you're almost home. It's a pain you're used to but that doesn't make gripping the steering wheel any easier. You sit in the car for a in the driveway, looking at the dark house, chewing a couple aspirin and grimacing at the taste.

You wait until the feeling subsides before getting out of the car, and once you're inside, you stand next to the bed and look down at your sleeping wife until there's no more bitterness left in your mouth.

 

3\. _seedling_

It's only been two weeks, but Jeff still clings to you for a moment when the van picks you up for Evanston. "Hey," he mumbles into your shoulder.

"Hey," you say back. "How's it going?"

"I feel good."

You smile. "Good."

He pulls back. "But I think I've decided to do too many songs I might not remember the words to."

You laugh, hard enough that you have to lean over and catch your breath before you can reply. "That sounds about right, for you."

"Shut up, jackass."

He elbows you in the side and you shove back, grinning. Things are easy and comfortable again and you're terrified it's all gonna fall apart if you so much as look at it sideways.

 

4\. _settling_

"When was the last time I wrote anything I knew?" Jeff asks with a smile and you give him your best deadpan look, because the answer to that is fifteen years or fifteen minutes, depending on who's asked, and both of you know it. Jeff chuckles and flips the pencil at you. It flies over your shoulder.

"Hey, I could lose an eye," you protest, scrambling for the pencil only to throw it back at him.

"The pirate look would only add to your appeal," he laughs. You kick at his leg and miss. It's good to hear him laugh.

Jeff shuts his notebook, sets it aside and crawls over. You open your arms and he presses his face against your neck. "I'm glad you're back," you say, just like you say almost every day. He mumbles something indecipherable in return. The hotel room, like most, is still suffering from an excess of air conditioning despite the fact that you turned it off, but Jeff is warm against your chest. You're only now starting to come down from the post-show high, and tiredness is pulling at the edges of your vision. You yawn into Jeff's hair. "I need to sleep," you murmur, and rub your feet together until your socks come off. "Are all the pencils out of the bed?"

"Yes," he huffs, but he's laughing, and he moves away long enough for you to shove the covers down for the two of you to slide down underneath, and you turn out the light.

 

5\. _involuntary_

You don't talk about it, ever. You figure everyone must know but no one says a word. Somehow you end up sitting on the tour bus alone, contemplating the dark television while everyone else is inside the restaurant eating dinner. _I'll only be a minute_ , you'd said, and that's turned into twenty when there's a knock and the door opens, and Jeff's head comes into view. "Glenn?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to sit out here the whole night?"

You look at your hands. They're bandaged again. "I might."

Jeff comes up the steps and sits down next to you. "You okay?"

"No," you say honestly. "I'm not okay."

"All right," he says quietly, nodding. "All right."

"I just want to be alone for a little while."

You know he understands that, because there's barely any time at all when there's no one else in a room. He touches your knee briefly and goes. You shove your hair out of your eyes and sink further into the couch.


End file.
